Topic : The clay heart ( hard soil). The seed that fell on pathway
Text: Luke 8:5 & 12
5. “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.
12. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
Clay is the densest and heaviest type of soil which do not drain well or provide space for plant roots to flourish.
This is what Jesus was saying to the people: The seed that is sown is the gospel - the good news
about Jesus.
The soils are the hearts of the people who make a choice about the message. The condition of a person’s heart can be compared to the different kinds of soils that received the seed.
If the seed stands for the truth of Jesus, the Word of God, and the soil is the hearts of people.
Let’s look at the first “soils,” or hearts:
Hard Path: Some of the seed fell on a path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some people hear the truth, but like hardened paths, they do not let it sink into their hearts . Soon Satan takes the truth away.
The Word is a seed; the seed will always work because of the power contained inside. However, the ground provides the seed with what it needs to grow and flourish after it is planted. In this parable Jesus describes four types of soil which translates to four different reactions to the seed. In this we see that the condition of the ground matters in the harvest. The condition of the person hearing the Word determines the outcome, not the seed itself. The Word is never the problem; instead it is how we react to it.
Jesus explained important truth, “Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved” (Luke 8:12). This is a scary situation; Satan has total access to steal the Word in this type of soil... This can happen to both believers and unbelievers. It is dangerous to become hard-hearted and not strive for understanding. We have many examples of this throughout the gospels where Jesus commented about their hardness of heart. Most of the time it was about the Pharisees, or the people, however He said it to the disciples also.
A classic example is when Jesus walked on water, the disciples were terrified when they saw Him, and on entering the boat the winds died down and they marvelled. However the scriptures record, “for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened” (Mark 6:52). They had just witnessed Jesus feeding five thousand, but they didn’t understand the miracle because of the hardness of their hearts. So when they saw Him walking on water they were afraid. The understanding of who Jesus was hadn’t taken root in their lives at this point, the result was that this seed was stolen along with their peace in the situation.
The sower did his job to give out the seed but because the seed was not taken care of, it was eaten by the birds. The ground where the seed fell is a human heart that refused to accept the word of God. Because he didn’t treat the word as an important thing the evil one came and stole them. The seed was perfect and had the potential to germinate and grow but because it was neglected and left in the open by the receipient it was a great chance for the devil to steal them . . The word is meant to be hidden in our hearts through meditation David said “Your word have I hidden in my heart that I may not sin against thee. (Psalm 119:11 ) When you revisit the word over and over again, there is no way by which the devil can steal it. It is only through repetition that our minds can hold information. This is what God looks for in us, to make room for His word in our hearts.
When God sent Mary a message she pondered over them and treasured them in her heart. Luke 2:19 “but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often”. Psalm 1 :2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. Joshua 1:8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. This is how you begin to build a relationship with Jesus. This is how you wash your mind and clean yourself from all impure thoughts. When you do this for long, your mind will not accept any ungodly thought that the devil brings, You will quickly get a notification. When you meditate on the word it brightens your inner man, you will begin to understand the word and appreciate it. You do your part to think of the word and the Holy Spirit will throw more light and bless you with understanding. This is how you start to renew your mind. If you keep on doing it with prayer you shall surely grow in knowledge and in understanding.
The Holy Spirit is a precious gift and one of His main functions is to teach and explain the truths of scripture to us as well as remind us of what Jesus said.
In this parable the condition of the hard packed soil is the sole reason the seed is ineffective. It’s never allowed to get beneath the surface where it can germinate and grow. The takeaway in all of this is that we must protect our hearts from hard-heartedness where the Word is concerned. We must keep it soft, pliable and teachable. We must plant these seeds giving them every chance to grow and produce. The harvest is dependent on the condition of the soil.
God bless us all.

Happy Sunday to you all
Have a wonderful week ahead